Identity card BES

The Identity card BES (locally also known as sedula) is a uniform identity card for residents in the

The legal basis is the Dutch law on BES identity cards (Dutch: Wet identiteitskaarten BES) which is derived from the corresponding law on the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Landsverordening Identiteitskaarten).^[3]

The card is only valid in the

Physical appearance

The card contains 12 numbered fields on the front with explanation on the back in Dutch, English, and Papiamento:^[2]

1. Surname
2. Given names
3. Date of Birth
4. Place of Birth
5. Sex
6. Nationality (for Dutch: NLD, the card is also issued to non-Dutch residents)^[4]
7. ID number
8. Card Number
9. Status
10. Date of Issue
11. Date of Expiry
12. Signature

The machine-readable strip starts with I<NLD as does the Dutch identity card.

Relation to other identity cards

The identity card of the Netherlands Antilles issued in Bonaire was machine-readable upon transition, whereas cards issued on Sint Eustatius and Saba were older and less secure. The last of those cards expired by 1 July 2011.^[2] Furthermore, the possibility will be investigated to replace the card by the Dutch identity card.^[4]

See also

• Dutch identity card

References